§ Mr. Whiteasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics about Elena Gurevich and her family who wish to emigrate to Israel; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RifkindWe have made clear our strong feelings about the refusal of the Soviet authorities to allow Jewish and other Soviet citizens, who wish to do so, to emigrate from the Soviet Union. Both my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and my right hon. and learned Friend raised this question most recently with Mr. Gorbachev, whose answer, regrettably, gave no cause to hope for an early change in Soviet policy. We shall continue to press for full implementation by the Soviet Union of its commitments in the human rights field and will keep the case of Elena Gurevich and many others like it fully in mind.